Musical Marauders
by Bookaholic711
Summary: On the final day of school, the Marauders give everyone a musical treat. Oneshot songfiction to "We Are the Champions" by Queen.


****Disclaimer: All characters and locations are property of J.K. Rowling. All lyrics belong to Queen. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.****

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The calm was eerie. Not like the calm before the storm is eerie, but like the calm of sleep right after a terrifying nightmare, when you're still expecting something to jump out at you is eerie.

Lily Evans was definitely expecting something to jump out at her, although something of a totally different nature than that which she had just endured. She had just taken a series of exams, horribly exhausting, and lengthy exams. They were, of course, the worst sort of exams one can suffer. Lily had not taken them alone, however; she'd had a number of friends to share her pain. In fact, all of the Seventh Years at Hogwarts had just gone through the same torture as Lily: more than two weeks of pure testing and studying, day and night.

The Seventh Years were exhausted, but they were so close to the end that they could literally smell the finish line. Parents would flock to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the following morning for graduation, and the next day all of the students would begin the rest of their lives.

For young Lily, this transition was decidedly bittersweet. She was going home to her parents' house for one final summer, in which her sister would be getting married. She despised the groom, who was a great big whale of a man with no sense of humor. In addition, Lily and her sister had not really spoken since Lily was eleven, and had made her first magical friends. Severus Snape was not a savory character, and Lily was less than proud of the friendship that they had shared.

However, even though Lily was returning to a home that really held nothing for her, two months later she would be beginning Auror training. To this, Lily particularly looked forward to. Not only would she finally be doing something in the long-standing battle against He Who Must Not Be Named, but she would at last be totally engrained in the Magical World. No one would have the right to call her 'mudblood' when she was among the most elite of the wizarding society.

Lily was also sad to leave Hogwarts itself. The castle had been her home for seven years, and what years they had been. She had learned so much and had so many experiences that could never be forgotten. She had both made and lost friends, boyfriends had come and gone, classes had been tried and discarded.

On this very day in question, Lily was sitting with two of her oldest friends. Mary McDonald sat on her left; Emmaline Vance was lying at her right. The three girls were out on the Hogwarts lawn, sitting under a gigantic birch tree on the edge of the Black Lake. Their classmates surrounded them on all sides.

Lily looked up from the book she had been reading. Mary was writing in her journal, pushing a lock of curly blond hair out of her face as she dipped her quill in ink. Emmaline was doing lightly, her brown eyes closed, her coffee-colored hair lying around her head like a halo. Lily chuckled softly at the irony, affectionately thinking how much her friend did not deserve it.

She took the moment to glance around the rest of the lawn. Her peers were sprawled on the grass. It was the first sunny day of the year; the temperature was nearly 25 degrees. The sun shone brightly and the lake was actually warm enough to swim in, and some people were. A group of Ravenclaw boys played Frisbee in the shallows. Some Hufflepuffs paddled around closer to the middle; the Slytherin girls sunbathed on the shore, the water licking their feet. In fact, as Lily cast her eyes around, she saw nearly all her classmates. Only two groups were missing, a group of Slytherin boys who everyone knew would be at He Who Must Not Be Named's side by the end of the week, and, strangely enough, Gryffindor's own marauding quartet.

This surprised Lily. The Marauders were never ones to miss a party, unless, of course, they planned to crash it. It was at this point that the calm, at least to Lily, because eerie. The Marauders would no doubt be there very soon with a surprise in store for them all.

For years, Lily had lived in constant fear and hatred of the four boys. They embodied everything she most despised: carelessness, arrogance, and unpredictability.

However, Fifth Year had brought the knowledge that there was decency among them, in the form of Remus Lupin. The two had been Prefects together and had gotten along shockingly well. Remus, Lily had discovered, was different from the other Marauders. He was studious and kind, lacking their trademarked arrogance and conceit.

The two had been friends since then, but it was not until Seventh Year that Lily had come to like any of the others at all. In Seventh Year, the best and worst thing ever to happen to Lily Evans occurred. James Potter had been made Head Boy, accompanying Lily in headship. For three months, Lily had lived in spite, hating the situation. She and James had clashed horribly, fighting over everything. But as the months rolled by, Lily had subconsciously let James past her shell, and by the Christmas Holidays, the two were close friends.

Naturally, several months of denial on Lily's part followed, but her resistance was futile. When, for the millionth time, James asked Lily to Hogsmede, there was really no choice but to say yes.

The date had been fun; there was no doubting that. And, at the end of the day, Lily had been hard-pressed to say no when James asked her to be his girlfriend. And so, for the second time, Lily said yes.

They had been dating for a couple months by the time our scene rolled around, and the two teenagers could not ask for a better relationship. James was everything Lily could want: funny, smart, caring, adorable. As for James, well, he'd been in love with Lily for two years; she was all that he needed. The two were virtually inseparable, and their groups had meshed in seven of the truest and most loyal friends that one can find. Sure, they were apart when Lily and her friends were studying, or when the Marauders were playing a prank, but, despite the newness of their relationship, everyone thought of them as one. JamesnLily. LilynJames.

So it was particularly odd to see the two separated, especially to have James completely absent from the picture. Lily knew he would be there sooner or later, probably sooner and probably not quietly. If there was on thing that James Potter and Sirius Black knew how to do, it was make an entrance.

No sooner had Lily had this thought than the sound of music reached her ears. The crowd on the lawn was given one short note to locate the source of the music before the voice of Sirius Black spread over all of the Hogwarts grounds.

_I've paid my dues, _

_Time after time, _

_I've done my sentence, _

_But committed no crime. _

The song was instantly recognizable to Lily, and by the end of the first verse she had located Sirius. He and his three friends, the source of the music, were sitting on broomsticks above the middle of the lake. Sirius was above his friends, his wand pointed at his throat for the Sonorous charm. He looked as dashingly handsome as ever, and Lily rolled her eyes as several girls swooned. Her own James was directly beneath his best friend, looking more at home on his broom than he ever did on the ground. In his arms was an acoustic guitar that he had bewitched to sound electric. Lily hadn't even known he played.

On his right was Remus, clutching his own wand and James' as well as though they were drumsticks. Peter was on the other side of James, a base guitar barely staying in his hands as he struggled to remain on his broom.

Each Marauder perfectly fit his instrument. Sirius was the flashy one, the star of the show, the ladies man. He wanted every eye trained on him. James was the same, although dialed down a bit. He provided the main music, the part everyone focused one, and he had his time to shine too. Remus was just like the drums. He sat in the background and was mostly ignored except for a few crucial moments. Yet he was entirely essential, providing a beat that the singer and guitarist could not hope to survive without. And Peter was Peter. The bassist. The one who went overlooked in every band, who everyone thought they could without.

_And bad mistakes, _

_I've made a few,_

_I've had my share of sand kicked in my face, _

_But I've come through!_

Lily realized the Marauders were singing about their years at Hogwarts, and the song was certainly fitting. Sure, they'd made mistakes, they all had. Like the time Lily had snuck into the Restricted Section, the time Mary had gone to the kitchens at midnight, the time Emma had gotten lost in Hogsmede. Or when James and Sirius had almost gotten expelled Third Years, when Remus had thought teaching was his calling and got a face full of mashed potatoes. But they'd all come through in the end.

_And I mean to go on and on and on and on!_

All the Seventh Years got to their feet and screamed as Sirius burst into the chorus. Most of them didn't even know the song; it was from the Muggle world. But still, they stood.

_We are the champions, my friends,_

Lily's book fell to the ground and she pulled Emma to her feet. They joined the crowd at the water's edge, pumping their fists and jumping to the beat.

_And we'll keep on fighting, till the end, _

_We are the champions, _

_We are the champions!_

The crowd became a mob, screaming and jumping like a pulse. Lily stayed on the edge, grinning and watching the Marauders.

_No time for losers, _

_Cuz we are the champions,_

_OF THE WORLD. _

The Seventh Years went wild, and Lily gazed in awe, but not shock. The Marauders had always had this ability, this undeniable charisma. Around them, everything else dropped. They were so naturally happy that their cheerfulness spread like a wildfire. It was no surprise to Lily that they had united the class, that because of them, a Slytherin girl from one of the darkest families danced alongside a Muggleborn Hufflepuff without a second thought. It was a power that they had.

_I've taken my bows and my curtain calls,_

_You_ _brought me fame and fortune and everything that goes with it,_

_I thank you all._

Leave it to Sirius to boast about his fame in one of the best moments Hogwarts had ever seen. He said this with his smug smile as the girls absolutely raved.

_But it's been no bed of roses,_

_No pleasure cruise,_

_I consider it a challenge before the whole human race,_

_And I ain't gonna lose!_

The years had not been easy. Classes had been hard, impossible test had made their appearances, the situation in the outside world had gotten worse and worse, and they'd all had their personal problems. A challenge it had been, but none of them had any intentions of losing.

This time the crowd sung the chorus with him, the whole year singing as one.

_We are the champions, my friends,_

_And we'll keep on fighting, till the end, _

_We are the champions,_

_We are the champions, _

_No time for losers, _

_Cuz we are the champions,_

_OF THE WORLD. _

Sirius stopped singing and yelled to the crowd, "Let me hear you now!" He turned his wand toward the students, flying around them in a circle. Lily joined in as the mob began to sing again, still beating like a human pulse.

_We are the champions, my friends,_

_And we'll keep on fighting, till the end, _

The Marauders joined in as Sirius made another loop around the Year. All the voices, singer, band, and crowd joined together and spread, magically magnified to a hundred times their volume.

_We are the champions, _

_We are the champions,_

_No time for losers,_

_Cuz we are the champions,_

James played on final high note, Sirius completed his circle, and the mob went crazy. Kids screamed and clapped, jumping and wolf-whistling. The Marauders landed on the shore, laid down their brooms and instruments. They joined hands and took a bow. Years of questioning later, Lily never did find out who started it, but someone grabbed Remus' hand, and soon a giant circle formed. Shy of a few Slytherins, every hand was connected and together, as one, the Seventh Year took a bow.

For a moment they stayed there. Then, all at once, they hands dropped, and, as though the song had never been played, everyone went back to their activities. The Slytherins laid back down, the Ravenclaws picked up their Frisbee, the Hufflepuffs got back in the lake, and the Marauders joined Lily, Emma, and Mary under the tree.

At first, Lily thought they would be disappointed. They'd put all the work into the music and nothing had changed. But then she realized that for them it was never about change. It was never about the long-term effects. Like all their pranking, it was about living in the moment, and really living each day to its fullest. Because people will only change if they want to, and the most you can do is take advantage of the time you have, and hope that maybe you might make the slightest difference. And even though the day was only spoken of among close friends, although most pretended the moment had never happened, Lily knew that everyone there remembered it until their death. A sense of unity like that is a very rare and pure thing.

And as Lily stood there on that lawn, staring into the overjoyed eyes of James Potter, she knew that Marauders had accomplished everything they'd hoped to with this stunt. They'd taken advantage of the moment.

"Carpe diem."

Seize the day.

* * *

_AN: Three important things before we part. _

_1. Okay, I'm only human, people. I love reviews. They give me that warm fuzzy feeling. However, I love reviews about a million times as much when they actually have substance. So I'm challenging you all. When you review (when, not if) I want you to tell me exactly what you thought. If you liked it, tell me why. If you hated it, tell me why. If you wish I'd done something differently, tell me what. If you want me to jump into a hole and never return, then for god's sake say so! The point of reviews is to give feedback. A simple, "THIS IS AMAZING," gives the writer nothing. If you complete the challenge to what I believe is the best of your ability, I will respond to your review. Believe it or not, that's how I've met most of FanFiction friends. It's always worth a shot, people. Oh, and I'll post my next oneshot even faster. :D_

_2. I really hope this part isn't necessary. If you don't know what I am about to tell you, you need to go educate yourself on classic rock. The song was We Are the Champions by Queen. And everyone should know who Queen is. Thank you. Also, no offense was meant to bassists in the writing of this. It's just the general opinion that I've often heard._

_3. This oneshot is really much more than a oneshot. It's the beginning of a challenge. A challenge that I know will push my limits and quite possibly kill my grades, but I'm going through with it. Starting today, August 19, 2010, I'm embarking on a mission. Every other Friday for an entire year, I'm going to post something on FanFiction. It can be a oneshot or a chapter or really anything basically. There are only two rules. It must be posted on the Friday, before midnight. And it must be over 1,000 words in length. That's 26,000 words over the course of the year. I'm up the challenge. _

_But I'm not just challenging myself. I'm challenging all of you too. Do this with me. 26 posts, 26,000 words, one year. Every other Friday. I promise there's no way you could write that much and not come out the other end a better write. This is about pushing yourself, improving, doing something you'll be proud of once you're done. Plus, anyone who PM's me and tells me they're doing it with me will get a shout out in the Author's Note of every single post. So do it. Not for me. For you. For your writing. I challenge you. Challenge yourself. _

_Ready, set, go!_

_~Bookaholic711_


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